Gluten Free Sourdough English Muffins

Here is the sourdough version of my Gluten Free English Muffins that I promised you. These are probably the best muffins that I've had since going gluten free years ago! The tang of the sourdough and buttermilk makes these oh so good! The texture is on the money too, toasty on the outside and chewy on the inside.
The high hydration in this recipe is what gives these muffins their nooks and crannies, a must for really good English muffins. The consistency is more like a thick cake batter than a dough. These could easily be made dairy free by replacing the buttermilk with your choice of milk alternative mixed with one tablespoon of vinegar.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups gluten free Multi-Grain or All-Purpose flour blend
• 1 teaspoon xanthan gum
• 1 teaspoon ground chia or more xanthan
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1-1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 cup active sourdough starter
• 1/2-2/3 cup warm water
• 1/2 cup buttermilk, room temperature
• 1 tablespoon oil or melted butter
• 1 egg, room temperature

Combine all of the dry ingredients in a large bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk well.

In a 2 cup measure, whisk together the starter, 1/2 cup water, buttermilk, egg and oil.

Slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry while mixing. Stir until very smooth. If your batter isn't the consistency of thick cake batter, slowly add in more water until it is.

Cover the bowl loosely, place in a warm spot and let the dough rise until double in size.

You want the yeast to be very active. Mine took close to 3 hours to double. For a more sour flavor, cover the bowl and place in the fridge overnight. Bring to room temperature before cooking.

Stir down the batter and place a lightly oiled skillet over medium heat.

Place as many well oiled muffin rings in your pan as it will accommodate.

Dust the inside of one of the rings with cornmeal then add a heaping 1/3 cup of batter. Quickly smooth the batter out a little with your finger and sprinkle with cornmeal. 

Continue filling the remaining rings.

Cook for 5 minutes on the first side, then carefully flip them over using a spatula.

The rings will be very hot!

Remove the rings and cook another 5 minutes.

If the rings don't pull off easily just leave them alone. You can run a knife around them later.

Place the muffins on a wire rack to cool completely.

Once cool you can split them with a fork by piercing them deeply

around the perimeter and gently pull apart.